DARPO-Cagayan conducts onsite hearings in Batanes

Batanes is an island province in the Cagayan Valley Region (Region 2) located on the northernmost part of the Philippines.  The municipalities of Batanes include: Basco (the capital), Itbayat, Ivana, Mahatao, Sabtang, and Uyugan. The three largest islands are Itbayat, Batan, and Sabtang. The northernmost is Mavudis Island. Almost half of Batanes are hills and mountains. Batan Island, with a land area of 35 km², is generally mountainous on the north and southeast. It has a basin in the interior. Itbayat Island, which has a total area of 95 km², slopes gradually to the west, being mountainous and hilly along its northern, eastern coast. As for Sabtang, mountains cover the central part of its 41 km² area, making the island slope outward to the coast. The province is hilly and mountainous, with only 1,631.50 hectares or 7.10% of its area level to undulating and 78.20% or 17,994.40 hectares varying in terms from rolling to steep and very steep. Forty two percent (42%) or 9,734.40 hectares are steep to very steep land. Because of the terrain of the province, drainage is good and prolonged flooding is non-existent. The main island of Batan has the largest share of level and nearly level lands, followed by Itbayat and Sabtang, respectively. Itbayat has gently rolling hills and nearly level areas on semi-plateaus surrounded by continuous massive cliffs rising from 20–70 meters above sea level, with no shorelines. Sabtang on the other hand, has its small flat areas spread sporadically on its coasts, while its interior is dominated by steep mountains and deep canyons. Batan Island and Sabtang have intermittent stretches of sandy beaches and rocky shorelines (source: www.wikipedia.com).

Sometime in October 2013, Atty. Ma. Fatima Yadao and her staff from the Legal Division of the Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office of Cagayan (DARPO-Cagayan) braved the unpredictable weather, and got on board a light aircraft from the Tuguegarao Airport and proceeded to Basco, Batanes to attend to the concerns of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and landowners concerning matters related to the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (R.A. 6657) as amended by R.A. 9700 (CARPER).  

The Legal Division provides agrarian legal assistance, which is comprised of resolution of agrarian law implementation (ALI) cases, ARB representation before judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, mediation and conciliation.

Also with them are DARAB Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD and OIC-RARAD) Atty. Elizabeth Binag and her staff who are to conduct hearings in Basco, Batanes. Both offices are concerned with the implementation of agrarian justice delivery which consists of adjudication of agrarian cases and provision of legal assistance. 
Because of the implementation of the DAR’s Rationallization Plan under Executive Order No. 366, the DARPO-Cagayan and DARPO-Batanes have been merged into one DAR provincial office with DARPO-Batanes being absorbed by DARPO-Cagayan under PARO Virgilio M. Acasili. As such, the services of the two DAR provincial offices are being managed by PARO Acasili as the provincial head of DARPO Cagayan-Batanes. 

Due to the high volume of cases needing immediate resolution (ALI and DARAB cases), hearings were conducted within the first two days of their arrival starting on the afternoon, the morning of their arrival was spent preparing the pleadings, notarization of documents through a deputized notary public in Basco, interviewing the party-litigants and their witness, etc. Around 14 DARAB cases were heard on the first day and about 15 cases were heard on the second day. Other cases involved the determination and declaration of the farmers’ status as bonafide Agrarian Reform Beneficiary (ARB) through the issuance of a Writ of Installation in favor of around 50 farmer-beneficiaries to erase any cloud of doubt as to their ownership of the awarded farm lands they are actually cultivating, as the same landholdings were previously the subject of legal controversies.

Aside from the hearings, the team also proceeded with posting of legal notices on the premises of the landholdings involved in the ALI and DARAB cases, ocular inspection of the landholdings under litigation, conduct of legal information, consultation and mediation conferences.

These kind of activities shall now be a regular part of the Legal Division’s and DARAB’s calendar of activities (in Batanes) for the coming years unless otherwise directed by the department’s policy rules and regulations.